1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system interactions, and more particularly to a system and method for configuring enterprise information handling system storage solutions.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Business enterprises have come to rely upon information handling systems in order to perform enterprise functions in an effective and efficient manner. One result of the growing reliance of enterprises on information handling systems is that enterprises have generated and continue to generate large quantities of information for storage. In response to increased enterprise storage needs, industry has developed a variety of storage solutions that store information on networked storage devices, such as networked hard disk drives. Generally, enterprises prefer storage solutions that are scalable so that additional storage is added as needed and that provide rapid recovery of information from storage when the information is needed. Another feature commonly sought by enterprises is redundancy, such as by keeping multiple copies of information within a storage solution so that failure of any one storage device will not make information inaccessible. One type of solution often preferred by enterprises is a storage area network (SAN). SANs are often interfaced with Fibre channel cables that provide for rapid communication of information between storage devices through host bus adapters (HBAs), Fibre channel switches and disk or storage processor enclosures (DPEs or SPEs).
One difficulty that enterprises face in setting up and using storage solutions is configuring components of a storage solution in a compatible manner. For example, different combinations of HBAs, switches, DPEs and SPEs call for different types of cables for connecting devices. Often, when ordering a storage solution, end users have confusion about the types of components to select and how the selected components will interconnect. The overall storage solution is often difficult for end users to visualize since storage solutions often include large numbers of components. In the event that an end user purchases incompatible components, such as incorrect cables, the end user often places responsibility for the incompatible components on the information handling system manufacturer. Even with active manufacturer input to the components purchased by an end user, mistakes still happen since manual selection and mapping of multiple components is a tedious process prone to errors.